2003 Ford KA Reviews - Page 2 of 5

2003 Ford KA 1.3 from UK and Ireland

Summary:

Disappointed

Faults:

Steering problems - 20-31k.

General Comments:

My KA is on a 03 plate, yes just over 3 years on, 31K on the clock, and it needs guess what, a new steering rack!

Had problems since Oct 05 with the steering; keeps slipping and loses its power steering. 3 trips to my local Ford garage, "Sorry Madam, we can't find anything wrong with it". Passed its MOT in April 06, nothing found, steering has got worse.

End of Sept 06, took it back to garage, warranty expired in Apr 06, and guess what, they find a fault with the track rod ends, they need replacing!

£120 later, thought all was well til last night; turned the steering wheel to go round a roundabout and clunk, squeak, had a job to turn the steering wheel round, and squeaked all the way. Took it back to the garage today, and now guess what they think, yes, they think it needs a new steering rack! £800+!!! Umm, all outside of warranty of course!

2003 Ford KA Lux 1.3 from UK and Ireland

Summary:

Faults:

General Comments:

This is an extremely competent car and has more than exceeded my ownership expectations.

The car looks cheeky, is lively, responsive, corners on rails, easy to drive and is good fun.

It can accommodate 4 full size adults with excellent front seat comfort.

Refinement and noise levels in daily driving are entirely acceptable although not class leading.

BUT THE BEST PART is running costs:

44mpg (calculated over 30000 miles) during short daily shopping type usage = Real World which is in excess of the published overall DoT figure.

Front brakes are currently only about 50% worn.

Tyres (4 off) will require replacement at 32000 miles. Worn extremely regularly with no shoulder wear etc. I feel as though I have had my monies worth 165/70-14 Conti.

CD, PAS, A/C, central locking, heated screen work well.

Gearbox is sometimes a little sticky into 1st/reverse when things get hot, but has survived two learner drivers and numerous hill starts.

Build quality is cheap and cheerful and well chosen/durable. Everything works as it should, but don't expect BMW style soft finishes and extremely close gaps. WYSIWYG sums it up.

Residual values speak for themselves. What better value car is there?

However, there is one problem that FORD must address. Spark plugs weld to the head and can easily break off during replacement. This is not a garage mechanic problem. It's a design issue. If a plug breaks it will necessitate the cylinder head to be removed. Ensure that the spark plugs are removed at regular intervals. If you buy second hand ensure this check has been done prior to purchase. You have been warned!

2003 Ford KA from UK and Ireland

Summary:

Cheap and tacky

Faults:

Nothing has gone wrong with the KA.

General Comments:

Never liked the look of them right from the start. Bought it because it was cheap. Don't like the KA at all a lot of road noise, wind whips about in the back of the KA. Doesn't feel very stable on the roar to me, wobble and bumpy ride. Light weight and flimsy would never buy another. Can never find a comfortable driving position and see all the dash board. The seats are uncomfortable, always have back ache even after a short drive. Reminds me of a toy car Noddy would like it.

15th Feb 2006, 03:36

No offense, but I cannot believe you bought a car that you diddnt like in the first place. If you start off with bad impressions then your going to continue thinking that its bad. Leave the poor little KA'S alone what do you want for £5,000.

17th Feb 2006, 05:10

It's true I shouldn't have bought it cos like I said I never did like the look of them. In truth, I don't think you can tell much about any car in 10 minute test drive, I've taken longer than that to buy a pair of shoes or pick something off a menu! Also, it wasn't just my decision which car to buy, my husband thought and still thinks it was a reasonable, inexpensive run about, which I suppose it is.

But I have never changed my opinion because everything I said in my original review is true. Consequently I would not consider buying another. So rest assured folks I won't be making the same mistake twice.

However cheap it is, I feel we wasted our money, as I find it really irritating to drive. Also, if it's such a fab car, why do Ford have an almost permanent offer running on the KA, which I notice they don't have on their other models. Hmm, I wonder why?

I wouldn't buy a Ford Probe either. Why? Call me fussy, but I just don't fancy owning a car with a name that sounds like a surgical instrument. BUT I do love my Fiesta.

26th Apr 2010, 15:26

I am 17, and have driven a Ford KA since I passed my test about 10 months ago, and I love it. It's a cheap and cheerful first car, and even my mum loves it and has one herself. You can't really complain about a car that costs so little and is so cheap to insure. My brother drives a Ford Fiesta, and I wouldn't even consider swapping... much prefer my KA.